Five Ingredient Pancakes

It’s Wednesday & you’re probably reading this while multi-tasking with some sort of electronic device & a tooth brush if you’re reading this when it posts at 7am.  Most mornings I find it a battle between blow drying my hair or eating breakfast. Usually the hair wins only because it’s so cold out lately I really don’t want icicles forming on my head - but who cares we should all be eating breakfast.  If you have about 10 minutes in the morning - maybe you wash & dry your hair the night before (note to self) - you can make these pancakes. You only need 5 ingredients to make them (plus whatever syrup or jam you want to slather on top) & about 7 minutes to make them. Truth be told, I made them on a Sunday but I would make them again on a week day. Plus, this recipe yields four fluffy pancakes - two for me & two for you - so it’s perfect if you have a smaller household - if you have more mouths just double the quantities.

When I have extra time, on the weekends, I make these pancakes or these ones & sometimes these crepes.

What’s your favorite pancake recipe?

Cheesey Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

If you follow me on instagram you may have already seen the giant pile of mashed potatoes I made for Thanksgiving. We always have several kinds of potatoes, but my cousin Marco insists it's not Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes - so it we had mashed potatoes & it was officially Thanksgiving.  This year I added two of my favorite things to our potatoes - cheese & garlic - & mashed them with a supped up version of the potato masher that my cousin-in-law, Mariah, said would've made Grandma O'Hara proud.

Keep reading for my recipe. How do you make your mashed potatoes? Do you use a food processor or go for the full arm work out with a traditional masher?

PS: remember if you have a ton of leftover mashed potatoes you can reinvent them with this recipe!

Parsnip Puree

"Let's talk about parsnips" - I believe those were the exact words that came from my friend Kara's mouth when I saw her a few weeks ago.  I can always count on Kara for a good conversation about how yummy veggies really are.  It's no secret I'd chose a veggie over meat any day, they just taste better to me.

Parsnips, if you've never had them, look like white carrots but are a little spicier & sweeter.  Turns out parsnips are packed with good-for-you-things like vitamins C, E, K, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese & tons of other things to make my mom proud that I eat them.

I like to eat parsnips mashed or pureed (think mashed potatoes, mmmmmm mashed potatoes - but with parsnips instead). Check out my recipe after the jump.

Fresh Ricotta Cheese

 I made ricotta cheese. Yes, I made cheese! It's way easier than it sounds.  You only need a few ingredients & some basic kitchen tools.  Learn how I made it after the jump!